1. Post Socialist Zanzibar
A study of poverty in a rapidly changing cultural
environment
by
Ronan Hegarty
A dissertation submitted in partial
fulfilment of the requirements for the
Masters degree of
Psychological and Psychiatric
Anthropology
Brunel University
2014

2. i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Figures.................................................................................................ii
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................iii
Introduction ................................................................................................... 1
Overview ........................................................................................................ 2
Chapter 1:
1.1 Why Jambiani .................................................................................. 3
1.2 Physical Conditions......................................................................... 4
1.3 Entering the Field ............................................................................ 4
Chapter 2:
2.1 Historical and Political Context....................................................... 6
2.2 Conclusion........................................................................................ 8
Chapter 3:
3.1 Literature Review...........................................................................10
3.2 Anthropological Perspectives of Poverty....................................10
3.3 Factoring in the force of Globalisation and the
importance of Infrastructure..........................................................12
3.4 The Significance of Psychological Anthropology ......................14
3.5 Conclusion......................................................................................16
Chapter 4:
4.1 Infrastructure .................................................................................17
4.2 Conclusion......................................................................................20
Chapter 5:
5.1 Stereotypical Perceptions of the Poor.........................................22
5.2 New categories of people and new strategies of social
navigation the poor embark on....................................................24
5.3 Conclusion......................................................................................27
Chapter 6:
6.1 Beneath the Surface of Peace .....................................................29
6.2 Poverty, Inequality and Cultural Change....................................32
6.3 Poverty: - A Lack of Psychological and Political Power...........34
6.4 Conclusion......................................................................................35
Conclusion...................................................................................................36
Bibliography.................................................................................................37

3. ii
LIST OF FIGURES
Number Page
1. Stretch of local houses in Jambiani Village................................... 3
2. Blue Oyster Hotel.............................................................................. 3
3. The entrance to the base................................................................. 5
4. The exit to the beach........................................................................ 5
5. Door of Zanzibar adorned with decorations ................................20
6. Road through Stone Town.............................................................21
7. Jambiani village road......................................................................21
8. Adult English class..........................................................................27
9. Traditional mode of self-representation in Jambiani ..................27
10.Local women’s Hijaib designs.......................................................28
11.Rubbish caused by overcrowding.................................................32
12.Living conditions in Stone Town ...................................................32

4. iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank my supervisor Liana Chua for her ongoing support and advice
throughout the writing of the dissertation. I would also like to thank the volunteers I worked
alongside with, in Zanzibar, who pondered the issues discussed, long into the night. When
the hour finally came for me to leave Zanzibar I realised that the people of Zanzibar were not
mere subjects that I had observed, I had grown to genuinely care about their situation.
My final thanks are therefore to them for their hospitality and the insights, they provided to the
problems Zanzibar is facing. The friendships that I forged with the people of Zanzibar have
filled me with a sense of purpose to convey their story. I hope I have succeeded on some
level.

5. 1
Introduction
‘Poverty’ is a highly politicised term that is elusive to define because ideas about what poverty
constitutes differs cross culturally (Green 2006 pg.2). One of the most cited attempts to
overcome this theoretical burden is by Coudouel et al (2002 pg.29) who writes:-
“A person is considered poor if his or her income level falls below some minimum level
necessary to meet basic needs. This minimum level is usually called the "poverty line". What
is necessary to satisfy basic needs varies across time and societies. Therefore, poverty lines
vary in time and place, and each country uses lines which are appropriate to its level of
development, societal norms and values."
Under this definition, poverty is a problem of deep international significance with millions of
people unable to meet the basic material needs to survive. Booth et al (1999) found that
policy makers in Africa and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) seemed to miss the
point that poverty is actually the outcome of specific social relations that require investigation
and transformation. There have been many avenues of analysis on such a broad topic across
the social science disciplines and within anthropology itself. What has been lacking
(particularly in the field of anthropology) however, is an attempt to fuse these various bodies
of literature into a more coherent account that would arguably capture the social reality of the
poor more vividly. This dissertation is essentially an attempt to bridge the gap between
various anthropological disciplines of the anthropology of poverty, infrastructure and
psychology which have largely overlooked each other’s fundamental insights to poverty. I
believe that incorporating these theories but also acknowledging globalisation and its effects
will not only be of academic significance to all corners of anthropology but will aid
anthropologists and policy makers alike in understanding poverty from a fresh/critical
perspective.
An excellent example of the benefits of this approach can be found in the work of Farmer
(2004). Drawing on the work of Norwegian sociologist Johan Galtung (1969), Farmer (2004)
calls attention to powerful forms of everyday violence that are motivated by social forces.
Many of these social forces are in turn heavily influenced by poverty and failing infrastructural
conditions. In the paradigmatic example Farmer uses to explain structural violence, he shows
how the root causes of a Haitian contracting HIV/AIDS are to be found not in personal
irresponsibility but in the displacement of a village by a dam planned and funded by powerful
actors in Washington, D.C.
This example shows that while many anthropologists rightfully argue that a single coherent
account of poverty would be impossible to produce, given the many complex realities that you
find all over the world. It is important to strive to come as close to this ideal as possible to
yield a much deeper understanding of the range of social forces that contribute to poverty that
could aid policymakers to tackle the problem in the most effective way possible.

6. 2
Overview
This dissertation is composed of 6 chapters.
Chapter 1 introduces the field site. It also provides information regarding my role in the field
which yielded my ethnographic sources that served as my platform for analysis.
Chapter 2 covers the history of Zanzibar. This is essential to understanding its current socio-
economic climate. It also highlights themes that have permeated through time and still serve
as important markers for analysis when discussing poverty; these include the role of Islam
and the ethnic/religious tensions between mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar.
Chapter 3 is a literature reviews of poverty from the angles the anthropology of poverty,
infrastructure and psychology. It will argue that combining the insights from these disciplines
will yield ethnography with more scope for analysis that will document the complex social
reality surrounding poverty more effectively. This is essentially the core of what this
dissertation aims to do.
Chapter 4 is the beginning of the ethnography .This chapter highlights how studying
infrastructure reveals many social realities. These include issues of global foreign investment,
forms of cultural identity, underlying problems of Zanzibar and the attitudes towards the
government.
Chapter 5 moves beyond the material world to the social one, in which Zanzibar is
undergoing a dramatic cultural shift as a result of tourism practices. This chapter analyses the
socio/cultural impact tourists are having on the ‘poor’ and how the ‘poor’ are finding new ways
to socially navigate in this new cultural world.
Chapter 6 analyses how the inequality, scarcity of resources and discontentment in Zanzibar
has led to the resurfacing of old religious and ethnic antagonisms between mainlanders and
‘local’ Zanzibaris .This is seen mainly in the form of discrimination and violence.
This dissertation will then close with a conclusion, highlighting the significance of the main
themes covered and areas of analysis which could be expanded upon by future research.
Drawing upon my ethnographic examples to show that the social reality of poverty in
Zanzibar is interwoven with many issues of identity, local and global relationships reflected in
the study of infrastructure, group formations, cultural change and its consequences.
Therefore the final product of this endeavour is the advocation of a multi-disciplinary
approach to poverty. This could stretch beyond the world of academia to aiding policy
makers/ NGOs operating in the area to be more institutionally self-aware and approach the
problem of poverty from an anthropological perspective that creates insights for change that
would be otherwise overlooked.

7. 3
C h a p t e r 1
1.1 Why Jambiani?
My fieldwork was carried out in Jambiani village, Zanzibar which is undergoing a
transformative cultural process due to the extremely recent advances
in transportation and telecommunications infrastructure and the rapidly growing tourist
sector. There is an increasing need to accommodate Western values in Zanzibar
because over 75% of the islands income derives from tourist activity (MWECLE 2002).
The reason I chose this area of Zanzibar for my fieldwork was because it is well
connected to other settlements, especially the capital. More importantly however, is the
social significance of the area which is in the midst of rapid cultural influence from the
West.
Businesses are largely owned locally but are under threat from international
companies that are constructing more hotels and guesthouses (see figure 2 for an
example). The increasing popularity of tourism is not only marginalising local business
but is increasing costs for accommodation, food, recreation activities and other tourist
demands. The recent explosion of tourism in this area is a new phenomenon. This is
due to the improved road conditions that until very recently were completely
inaccessible.
My field site is undergoing structural and social changes that are important to
understand because more wealth is being undoubtedly created but is not trickling
down into the local economy. This field site is a living embodiment of how culture
influences how local people conceptualise their own identity and existence. There are
also social forces at play that are creating a landscape of inequality and poverty that
should be understood.
Figure 1 (left)-Stretch of local houses in Jambiani Village
Figure 2 (right)-Blue Oyster Hotel. One of many tourist resorts along the beach

8. 4
1.2 Physical conditions
Zanzibar is an archipelago made up of Zanzibar and Pemba Islands, as well as
several islets. It is located in the Indian Ocean. The capital of Zanzibar, located on the
island of Unguja, is Zanzibar City. Its historic centre, known as Stone Town, is a World
Heritage Site and is claimed to be the only functioning ancient town in East Africa. The
main industries that bring income to the islands are spices, raffia, and tourism. The
islands are characterised by their beautiful sandy beaches with fringing coral reefs that
attract visitors from all around the world. The village of Jambiani is situated on a
narrow strip of coastal zone on the southeast coast of Unguja island and lays some 55
km from Stone Town.
The village of Jambiani is essentially a narrow sandy-coral stretch between the
shoreline to the east and the limits of bushy thorn vegetation to the west. This narrow
zone is characteristic of long stretches of Zanzibar’s coastline and is interrupted
frequently by mangrove vegetation. Typically, a thin layer of sand surface covers the
underlying coral rag dominated by coconut palm plantations. Somewhat untypical for
Zanzibar, Jambiani village has a linear structure, running parallel to the coast, with
village houses built close together and arranged along the main road, which cuts
through the village in a north-south axis, parallel to the coastline. This throughway
plays an important role in the daily life of the village inhabitants because all public
buildings are located along it (see figure 1).
1.3 Entering the field
My entry point to the local community was facilitated through my affiliation with the
NGO, African Impact in which I directly volunteered in the teaching/community work
Zanzibar project. African Impact was founded in 2004 and is the largest on-the-ground
facilitator and operator of responsible volunteer projects in Africa which all contribute
towards sustainable goals. These goals are often to increase education to help people
acquire employment and conserve natural environments to maintain sustainable levels
of eco-tourism. African Impact is a moderately sized NGO which in 2011 alone
contributed a total of 2,949,617 hours to education (African Impact 2014). While this is
significant it is important to note that the branch of African Impact in which I volunteered
was miniscule on a national scale teaching roughly 200 students English. The African
impact base lay on the coast which had the dual advantage of being on the beach
allowing easy access to other resorts as well as having a back entrance that led right
into the centre of Jambiani village (See figures 3 and 4).
A standard day consisted of an early start (7.00am) followed by a cycle to nursery
school to teach ‘local’ children English. Although the children could hardly utter a word
of English the ‘local’ teachers had good command over the language. After some lunch I
would then cycle to adult English class where the standard of English was fair enough
to hold conversation with a diverse range of students aging from 15 to their mid-30s.
When these classes had been taught I was free to do explore the village and resorts at

9. 5
my leisure. During this time I visited Stone town and took a guided city tour which led
me to local mosques, meat markets and vegetable spice markets where the locals were
more than willing to converse with me. I also embarked on a local guided culture tour of
my village in which I learned a great deal about local customs, social norms and values
as well gained a good grasp of the land. I also quickly realised that many locals wore
football shirts and despite there being various social groups in Zanzibar they were
united in their love for football. I was also fortunate that the World Cup was played on a
large screen in the middle of the village. With this popular hang outs established I
donned my Ireland football shirt and engaged in conversations with many of the locals
about a range of issues I will discuss later.
Volunteering proved to be an essential status tool that greatly facilitated my fieldwork.
My status as a ‘volunteer’ give me access to all the local resorts in the area for free in
which I was able to converse with staff about issues ranging from culture to poverty as
well as be recognised by locals as more than a “mzungu” (white tourist). Volunteers
were greatly respected by the local community who on every bike ride would not fail to
shout “teacher” or “jambo (greetings). A possible drawback as my position as a
volunteer could be that people would not fully discuss their problems to me out of
embarrassment as they wanted to gain respect from a high status “teacher”.
Figure 3 (left)-The entrance to the base
Figure 4 (right)-The exit to the beach

10. 6
C h a p t e r 2
2.1 Historical and Political Context
Zanzibar occupies an unusual position within Tanzania because it is a semi-
autonomous territory that maintains a political union with Tanzania, but has its own
parliament and president. The identity discourse in Zanzibar derives from the broader
historical processes on the isles in the course of which people of different ethnic and
racial origins living in Zanzibar have influenced the local landscape.
An integral dimension of this discourse has been formulated through association of
other places such as Arabia and other littoral societies around the Indian Ocean. Trade
and colonisation were the two major sources of interaction between Zanzibar and
people of wider social ideologies which brought Zanzibar into contact with the Arabian
Peninsula, the Indian sub-continent, South East Asia, Europe and mainland South
Africa. The Islamic culture and language of “Swahili” evolved over centuries on the East
African coast out of interaction between these people (Horton and Middleton 2000).
In spite of its many uses over centuries, and controversies that surround its historical
existence, an important feature unifying Swahili society and giving it a sense of cultural
identity, has been Islam. Islam penetrated East Africa primarily through the avenue of
trade with traders acting as the (primary) “agents of Islam in East Africa (Lewis 1966).
Trade also give rise to new urban centers along the East African coast where members
of various ethnic groups, from the coast as well as the inland came and traded slaves,
ivory and other goods with the Arabs.
Over time, social relations improved and it had become apparent the indigenous people
had provided the Arabian empire with economic advantages and political power in the
region which lead to Arabs establishing a class based society, positioning themselves at
the top of this new hierarchy. As importers of Islam to the region and in light of their new
social status, Arabs acquired social centrality and displaced the indigenous populations
within these urban environments (Safari 1994).
A major turning point in Zanzibar’s history came with the arrival of the Portuguese to
the islands in the late 15th century who armed with cargo vessels seized the Indian
Ocean trade from the Arabs. They captured numerous independent settlements along
the East African coast forcing the Arab mercantile leaders to pay yearly tributes
(Bennett 1978). This in effect starved the islands of much of their wealth. The Arabian
empire did not have the military strength to confront the Portuguese so enlisted the
Omani naval support to defeat the Portuguese. In 1652 the Omani rulers agreed and
raided Zanzibar. There was ensuing struggle for domination over the East African
coast which eventually ended in 1729 which accumulated into an Omani victory.

11. 7
Zanzibar’s new rulers, posing as liberators immediately began to develop their own
interests in East African commerce. The Busaidi Sultanate (The ruling dynasty of
Oman) initiated a new era of Arab dominance upon Zanzibar and were demarcated as
the “new Arabs” by the local population (Horton and Middleton 2000). The newly
arriving Omani Arab immigrants, using their own system of private ownership,
considered the land rightfully theirs and created a land holding system at the expense
of marginalising the local Zanzibar landowners. This was also a period when the
glove crop was introduced to the region which resulted in a mass influx of slaves to
the islands to pick them.
By 1895 slaves accounted for roughly 85% of the total African population in Zanzibar
(Fair 2001). This period is hugely significant as it was a period in which Islam became
a defining factor in social status and personal identity which offered local people new
forms of capital previously unobtainable. Slaves could now escape from their
“mainland” identity and adopt Islam to situate themselves within the social hierarchy
that was now largely dependent on religion.
It is believed that the social/cultural power of Islam arose out of a problem with how to
establish a social hierarchy. Essentially, mainland Tanzanian Muslims on the premise
of possessing stronger and “pure” genealogical links to the Arabian Peninsula
attempted to claim a higher social status than the “local” population of Zanzibar.
However a demarcation based on race was not suitable within this society because of
the history of intermarriages. Therefore an Islamic identity replaced a racial one
(Cooper 1981). This period is hugely significant when analysing the current mindset of
Zanzibar today as Islam continues to serve as a powerful structure to establish social
difference and provide people with a source of meaning which derives its roots from
this historical discourse (Castells 2001).
The period of Oman rule came to an abrupt end in 1890 when Zanzibar became a
British protectorate. This turned the previously all powerful Omani sultans to nothing
more than figureheads (Bennett 1978). The British designated Zanzibar as Arab in
origin and formulated new markers of belonging, differentiating the local population by
race, “tribe”, nation, ethnicity and linguistic distinctions (Chachage 2000). This new
class structure placed British at the top, followed by Arabs and finally Africans were
situated at the bottom. These racial distinctions within the island community have
contributed to the social and political conflicts in present Zanzibar (Lofchie 1965). For
example negative attitudes towards mainland Tanzania derived from this period of
slavery because local Africans from the mainland exploited people in Zanzibar by
marrying Arabs, acquired plantations and subsequently slaves (many of which came
from Zanzibar due to its convenient distance from mainland Tanzania). Naturally due
to the mixing of ethnicities throughout Zanzibar’s history this period was characterised
by vast confusion with regards to identity.
By the 1950s the racial discrimination had led to tens of thousands of people living
outside the official town boundaries while he Arab elites settled in Zanzibar Stone

12. 8
town. The locals increasingly identified the Omani Arabs as the source of their misery
(Fair 2001). The Zanzibar Nationalist Party (ZNP) were in power at this time and
propagated the ideology of Middle Eastern values and had a vision for Zanzibar to be
a unified “Arab- centred- civilisation”. This excluded Africans who in turn formulated
the African-Shirazi Party (ASP) who introduced a pan-African identity, identifying
primarily with Africa. Through religious literature such as the Qur’an they argued that
“Whereas God divided humankind into neat, orderly divisions- one race for one
continent- the cruel, ignorant oppressors (Arabs) are undermining Gods plan”. By
harnessing the influential power of religion their vision that Africa should be the
primary characteristic of social stratification and identity was widely received. These
two opposing visions of Zanzibar quickly lead to overt racial hatred which accumulated
to an armed African insurgence by the ASP who overthrew Arab political, social and
economic rule in 1964. According to Donald Peterson (2002), a US diplomat based in
Zanzibar, the revolutionary government decimated Zanzibar to a state of abject
poverty that it has never recovered from.
The dream of a socialist utopia fell short to government corruption. Development aid to
Zanzibar accounted for roughly 84% of the government’s budget and the vast majority
of it was embezzled by those in power (Myers 1993).The ASP officials also
confiscated much of the fertile land for themselves. This made citizens unable to
cultivate the lands that were given to them (Shao 1992). Consequently many citizens
moved to urban environments in search of work which dramatically increased the
population of Zanzibar town. The infrastructure was not able to support the growing
number of people and thus created conditions of squalor which are characteristic of
poor areas of Zanzibar today (my fieldsite Jambiani being a noteworthy example).
Many Arabs were murdered, imprisoned or deported during this period of what the
government labelled “Africanisation”.
Anyone that had the contacts or capital to flee Zanzibar did and left a vacuum in
Zanzibar’s economy, resources and infrastructure. Without resources the government
became increasingly dependent on mainland Tanzania. Political and cultural
hegemony gradually became imposed over the islands, whose agents now controlled
the social, economic and political institutions of Zanzibar and largely still do (Saleh
2004). The socialist experiment was abandoned in 1985 to attract foreign investments
in a desperate bid to save the islands economy and international trade resumed again
(Chachage 2000). This leads us to the present post socialist Zanzibar in which tourism
and growing commerce are attracting many Zanzibaris of Arab origin back to the
islands. The post- socialist era has become a battleground for re-conceptualising
civilisation that will ultimately determine every aspect of life for the people of Zanzibar.
2.2 Conclusion
Islam, dominance of Arabs, slavery, Omani and British colonialism, Pan- Africanism,
the struggle for independence, the 1964 revolution and the imposition of socialism
historically embedded a variety of meanings with regards to identity and power at

13. 9
different levels of society which shaped distinctive ideas of Zanzibar culture. These
key historical events created a social environment of inequality that bred a highly
unstable political climate as well as creating notions of racial superiority. These factors
coupled together were highly influential in marginalising the “local” people from critical
resources such as education which has subsequently led to the economic decline and
widespread poverty of the local people of Zanzibar.
With regards to the term ‘local’ this historical exposition has revealed it is a
problematic one due to the shifts in migration throughout the islands history as well as
the changing identity discourse that has emerged as a result of interaction with other
nations. This being said the ill feelings towards “mainlanders” and unity of Islam has
cemented the ideology of “local” in the minds of the people of Zanzibar. Therefore
when I use the term “local” I mean so, from the ideological perspective of the people of
Zanzibar. In the post- socialist era, new ideas about modern life, global media, and
socio-economic mobility tied to the neo- liberal economy, conspicuous consumption,
and the Tanzanian union political discourse are leading Zanzibaris to appropriate new
meanings with regard to their identity and culture.

14. 10
Chapter 3
3.1 Literature Review
The social, cultural and political changes that have occurred in my field site and
Zanzibar in general are of great significance. This is because a number of key themes
such as inequality, corruption, infrastructure conditions, domination by foreign powers
and religious, ethnic and ideological conflict are all interconnected to the vast poverty
that prevails in the region. There has been a fascinating array of anthropological as well
as psychological literature on these important social forces that are essential to discuss
in further detail.
Analysing the anthropological academic discourse on a range of issues will aid in
interpreting findings from my fieldwork as well as give the paper greater scope and
validity to address the question at hand.
3.2 Anthropological Perspectives of Poverty
The field of anthropology holds a unique position in the social sciences due to on its
methodology of participant observation, cross-cultural comparison and ethnographic
research depicting human experiences from the point of view of its subjects. Using
anthropological concepts, these studies often focus on human behaviour in the context
of the social environment. This is a highly reflective perspective that offers valid data
which can not only be used to better understand poverty but offer fresh insights and
ideas to better the lives of the poor on a practical level.
The primary contribution that Anthropology has given to the wider academic discourse
concerning poverty has been its implementation of the concept of culture to better
understand poverty from the perspective of those who are ‘poor’. With regards to the
‘poor’ it is important to note they are not a homogenous, easily identifiable category.
There are many intersecting forms of identity to consider, when writing about the
inequality in Zanzibar which includes ethnic and religious ties. Also using the term ‘poor’
as some sort of ‘quantification’ would be a huge theoretical mistake .Similar to the term
culture, poverty is a slippery concept that operates under a subjective bias, i.e the
western quantification of what being ‘poor’ consists off may not apply to many people in
Zanzibar who may not consider themselves ‘poor’ at all. Therefore the term ‘poor’ is
used loosely to represent the people who amidst the vast inequality that prevails in
Zanzibar, lack many basic material resources as well as psychological/social resources
to find fair opportunities to acquire employment.
In addition to the implementation of the concept of culture to better understand poverty,
there has also been a growing body of anthropological literature on NGOs. Examples
include the Mosse (2005) fieldwork which has shown that anthropology can open up a
reflexive capacity that is essential to international aid organisations’ effectiveness in
achieving their goals of poverty reduction or greater social justice. As in most

15. 11
anthropological practice, insights come from combining the experience of insider
participation with the detachment of an outsider; from crossing and re-crossing
boundaries between insider operation and outsider researcher positions. Eyben (2007)
has expanded upon the work of Mosse (2005) with the aim of rehabilitating
anthropology into development, perhaps not so much as an expert field building social
or indigenous knowledge into policy prescription, but as a certain way of constructing
and analysing problems and reflecting on the wider social and cultural context of
development, critically engaging with the dilemmas of power and knowledge that shape
the aid system.
Anthropology utilises ethnographies, narrative analysis, and participant observations
which essentially allow anthropologist to describe the complex bonds of human and
social relations within a society through descriptive studies of living cultures. Lewis
(1959) states this perspective well when he writes, “To understand the culture of the
poor, it is necessary to live with them, learn their language/customs and to identify with
their problems and aspirations”. What the culture of the poor consists of consists off is
well summarised by the Geertz (1973) who interprets culture as “ A system of inherited
conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men communicate,
perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life."
The main reason why conducting ethnography is a worthwhile endeavour in the area of
poverty is illuminated by Banerjee and Duflo (2011) in their much praised book “Poor
Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty”. Banerjee and
Duflo (2011) have strongly advocated approaching the poor directly about what they
have to say about their situation. They also claim that while the answers and views of
the poor appear startling and counter intuitive they actually make the utmost sense
when the circumstances of vast inequality are understood from the locals understanding
of their situation. This subsequently produces a highly valid account of poverty that
creates insights for change that would be otherwise overlooked by policy makers.
Anthropology’s contribution to poverty began in the 1960s when several anthropologists
sought to investigate and define poverty as a distinct and separate identity. These led
theorists to explain the poverty construct as adaptive, self-sustaining system with a
unique language and organisation that sustains and perpetuates the condition. It was
the seminal book Five Families: Mexican Case Studies in the Culture of Poverty by
Oscar Lewis (1959) in which the “culture of poverty” was first coined. Lewis (1959)
suggested that behaviours and beliefs are learned in early childhood and this is why
poverty is often multigenerational. He noted behaviours that included sexual
promiscuity, strong feelings of marginality, helplessness and dependency, lack of clear
judgement and limited knowledge.
Lewis (1959) made a huge theoretical leap when he boldly claimed the attitudes and
beliefs underlying the culture of poverty transcend both ethnicity and geography i.e. are
universal. This naturally sparked considerable controversy among scholars which spilt
anthropology into two main camps about the nature of poverty. In one corner there were

16. 12
those who supported Lewis’ culture of poverty theory. Praise for this theory came from
various ethnographies that reached similar conclusions. Examples include the work of
Frazier (1962) who studied the disorganised lives of poor black people living in urban
areas. Frazier (1962) illustrated how the culture of poverty leads to promiscuous
behaviours as well as behaviours that deviate from the social norm. Similarly, Moynihan
(1965) writes in the so-called “Moynihan Report” that the African-American family was in
danger of falling behind middle-class whites because of the “culture” in which they live.
Finally Stein (1974) further validated the culture of poverty theory as proposed by Lewis,
citing examples of learned behaviours of those living in poverty that are passed on from
generation to generation. According to the scholars who supported this theory, these
undesirable behaviours can only be changed by modifying individual behaviours.
In contrast, the ‘class poverty school’ of thought suggested that the behaviours of poor
people are the result of social class and that their behaviours are adaptations to the
environment in which they live, not a set of distinct values and attitudes. From this point
of view, behaviours could be altered by policies that are designed to remove obstacles
faced by the poor. Parker and Kleiner (1970) hypothesised that attitude characterising
the ‘culture of poverty’ help people living in poverty to maintain their sanity. They reflect
a ‘realistic’ appraisal of the constraints of their social situation (Parker and Kleiner, 1970,
p. 519). Parker and Kleiner based some of their study on the work of Valentine (1968).
For Valentine, culture is a structural phenomenon of its own that influences the
behaviour of the people it encompasses. By applying the concept of culture to the poor,
researchers ignore the significant norms that the poor share with the rest of society, in
essence blaming the victims of poverty for their decisions, attitudes, and way of life.
These theories are essentially the significant foundations of anthropological thought on
poverty but there are new challenges that face anthropologists in the 21st century, the
first and perhaps most crucial of which is the force of globalisation.
3.3 Factoring in the force of Globalisation and the importance Infrastructure
Globalisation has been defined by Kottak (2011, p396) as “the accelerating
interdependence of nations in a world system linked economically and through mass
media and modern transportation systems” and is often synonymously linked with
transnationalism: “extending or going beyond national boundaries” (Merriam Webster
Online Dictionary). The rapidly evolving technological age we are living in has thus
created exchanges of custom, ideas and values via media devices which are creating
nations where people are becoming increasingly interlinked. Therefore the study of
poverty as an ‘isolated’ culture is no longer feasible due to the wider social forces of
globalisation. Taking a broader perspective on the impact of the social environment on
human behaviour, Moreira (2003) sees globalisation (including the spread of capitalism)
as the major cause of both wealth and poverty. Specifically, she explains that,
“globalisation” works in a selective fashion, including and excluding segments of
economies and societies from information networks, giving us pockets of rich and poor”
(2003:70). Moreira particularly condemns globalisation for disseminating Western
culture’s greed for material goods, which she considers to be responsible for a particular

17. 13
kind of poverty called “Consumerist Poverty” or “Consumerist Syndrome”. This western
emphasis on materialism has created an increase in depression and misplaced low self-
esteem according to Moreira (2003).
Similarly Kleine et al (1993) came to the conclusion that the spread of western culture
has not only influenced peoples sense of worth and emotions but more importantly how
they conceptualise their identity. Kleine et al (1993) have a strong case when they write
“the consumption of products and goods has weaved itself into how people construct
their identity”. Other writers such as Elliot and Wattanasuwan (1998) have followed a
similar theme, writing about brands possessing a symbolic identity to the owner.
Globalisation also presents methodological problems for anthropologists, Susser (1982)
notes that small samples of ethnographical data make it difficult for anthropologists to
generalise to larger and global populations. She contended that this issue could be
addressed by studying the influence of the state on the social organisation of urban
populations. This can be done by making connections between local events the
anthropologist uncovers and national and global processes.
If linking individual experiences to larger local and global processes are key to attempt
to document the many facets of poverty this then begs the question of how the highly
complex relationship between state and the urban population can be studied. I believe
this aspect of my research can be illuminated by the anthropology of infrastructure.
Infrastructures are the systems that enable circulation of goods, knowledge, meaning
and people in the form of material structures such as roads, waterworks, railworks,
electrical power and so on. Paul Dourish and Genevieve Bell (2007) point to
infrastructures as significant components of how people experience space. Dourish and
Bell (2007) also argue that focusing on infrastructure also allows examination of the
shifting boundaries between material and immaterial structures, and the shifting
networks between assemblages of human and nonhuman actors. They also argue that
tracing infrastructure reveals power dynamics that transcend divides between public
and private, state and NGO.
It is important to refrain from thinking of infrastructure as something static but rather as
“A relationship or an indefinite regress of relationships, never a thing” (Bateson, 1978,
p.249). Anthropological approaches to the study of infrastructure investigate the
construction process as well as daily maintenance practices which in an ethnographic
context have the benefit of revealing the workers attitude, behaviour, well-being and
ultimately culture. The study of infrastructure can also reveal the power dynamics
behind the relationship the state has with its people as well as provide an insight to how
larger global relationships in the form of foreign investment can transform the
infrastructural conditions of a developing country. This has been well articulated in the
writings of Mains (2012) who examined contrasting narratives concerning privatised
infrastructural development projects as well as state run energy and road infrastructure.
By analysing the creation and maintenance of road infrastructure Mains was able to
touch on the themes concerning power and exchange in which the residents of Jimma,

18. 14
Ethiopia would feel alienated and powerless in areas with poor infrastructure that
resulted in poor education and little job prospects.
Finally, studying infrastructure can act as a marker for issues of class and race which
are intrinsically tied to causes of poverty. De Boeck (2012) illustrates this well in an
article analysing the Congolese governments plans for the future of Kinshasa in which
urban infrastructure is beginning to develop. Spectacular new skyscrapers, hotels, and
other developments have given the local people a sense of pride and longing for a
better future under these conditions despite the fact they know they are likely never to
have access to this infrastructure due to their lower class status which is largely based
on race. The current infrastructural development in Zanzibar closely mirrors this
situation which I will discuss in the ethnography. This angle of anthropology is of
significance because it explores the relationship the powerful members of society share
with the poor. An enhanced understanding of this relationship will undoubtedly aid policy
makers and NGOs operating within Zanzibar and many other areas of Africa to address
the many social issues that lead to a stagnant social environment where inequality and
poverty thrive.
3.4 The significance of Psychological Anthropology
Without a comprehensive view of the impacts of poverty that acknowledges external,
structural factors, the poor will continue to suffer (Moreira, 2003). However poverty does
not just comprise of low income or lack of property, it is also a lack of psychological and
political power borne out of human relationships (Sen, 1999). Psychological
Anthropology addresses the missing link between wider anthropological disciplines of
aid and infrastructure by incorporating psychological theories into a wider cultural
context. Before reviewing the significance of psychological anthropology to the
discussion of poverty we will first deal with the slippery term, culture, in more detail
because it is at the heart of people’s behaviours, personal ideology and psychological
processes which in turn creates social hierarchies, groups, attitudes, norms and values.
Booth et al (1999) found that policy makers in Africa and NGOs viewed culture in a
similar light to poverty. They viewed these concepts as ‘entities’ in the sense of a fixed
concrete concept that can easily be defined and measured. This is a narrow perspective
according to Kleinman and Benson (2006 pg.1673- 1676), who define culture as a
continual process of human relationships, they write: -
“Culture is a process through which ordinary activities and conditions take on an
emotional tone and moral meaning for participants. Cultural processes include the
embodiment of meaning in psycho physiological reactions, the development of
interpersonal attachments, the serious performance of religious practices, common-
sense interpretations and the cultivation of collective and individual identity. Cultural
process frequently differs within the same ethnic or social group because of difference
in age, cohort, gender, political association, class, religion, ethnicity and even
personality”.

19. 15
Another valid definition arises from the work of Devereux (1977) who sees culture as a
set of symbols that gives orientation of the self and social groupings with others. Like
Kleinman and Benson (2006), Devereux (1977) made a distinction of culture in a
universalistic way but also considered cultural reductionism. The former producing
symbolic and empirical material and through socialisation the latter giving a specific
local configuration of a certain group (Devereux, 1977). In other words there were
cultural norms and values that could be argued to be had by wider society but that
within society there are many social groups, each operating with their own set of cultural
norms and values. This definition shows that culture does not have a fixed meaning for
everyone. It is an ever-changing and highly adaptable term i.e not a fixed ‘entity’.
Under these definitions and more, that follow a familiar theme, it is clear that the
problems that stem from poverty, including social inequality, social suffering, racism and
classism are products of human interaction which is inevitably interwoven in the fabric of
culture. While inherently biased to my chosen subject I believe psychological
anthropology has great potential to contribute to the academic discourses surrounding
poverty. This is because psychology and anthropology when combined effectively
provide many layers of analysis of poverty. Psychological anthropology acknowledges
the psychological forces that are at play in the relationship between people which
ultimately creates poverty. With regards to racism which is a pervasive force in poverty
stricken areas, Ian Hacking (2005) argues whether or not race is a real kind or
superficial one. He concludes that the propensity to regard different races of people as
different kinds of people is produced by “the instincts of empires to classify people in
order to control, exploit, dominate and enslave” (2005:114).
Continuing on the theme of exploitation, psychological studies by Zimbardo (1971) and
Lott (2002) have revealed the psychological process of “distancing from” and “de-
humanising” the poor that help the powerful justify their continual domination over
resources. This concept of elitism and disconcerting global inequitable distribution of
wealth and power has been investigated from a larger scale in the writings Edelman and
Haugerud (2005) and Dijk, V (1993). They focus on the more subtle, discursive
dimensions of how the modern elite in a given society, through the use of politics,
business, academia, education, and the media, seek to dominate and exploit other
“inferior” social groups. These examples illustrate the theoretical appeal of a
psychological anthropological analysis of poverty which “Considers broader cultural and
psychological factors which, if taken into policy initiatives will lessen and possibly end
human oppression” (Benton and Craib 2001). Theoretically, psychological anthropology
is very appealing because it allows anthropologists to describe the complex bonds of
human and social relations in even more depth than previously and subsequently
equips them better to interpret the wider social effects of globalisation and poverty in
their given community. This is because this approach not only focuses on social
interaction but also accounts for psychological forces that make people behave the way
they do, providing an extra level of analysis.

20. 16
3.5 Conclusion
While the anthropological view of poverty originated primarily with Lewis’s (1959)
concept of the culture of poverty, it has been greatly expanded by critical theorists to
encompass the global challenges (e.g.-globalisation) emerging in the 21st century
discourse on poverty. Lewis’s culture of poverty theory stimulated considerable debate
within the anthropological community as well as in other social science disciplines.
However, the main thrust of contemporary anthropology has moved the debate away
from investigating the poor in isolation to the exploration and integration of individual
communities with policy makers and NGOs to establish shared goals. Anthropologists
possess a unique ability to document and explain the individual and collective
experiences of people in poverty through their use of in-depth ethnographies, narrative
analysis and participant observation. They are able to vividly tell the story of individual
experiences within a particular group and culture. By investigating global phenomena at
the individual level they are able to document the interconnectedness between local
environments and global processes and compare similar and contrasting dynamics
across diverse populations.
The anthropology of infrastructure has not only some interesting theoretical
contributions worth noting but a practical methodological insight that has the potential to
broaden the scope of how fieldwork is carried out in psychological and in particular
psychiatric anthropology. As for psychological anthropology it has great potential to
integrate the effects of psychological phenomenon concerning emotions, heuristics,
group formations, and cultural changes as well as the dynamic interaction of ideology
and power that accumulate to shape the social and physical environment.
Each of these disciplines documents the social forces surrounding poverty from a
different angle .However the insights these two disciplines yield can be combined to
produce a highly in depth account of poverty that has the benefits of uncovering a range
of themes that arise from studying infrastructure and culture within a psychological
context. The ethnography that follows is an attempt to bridge the gap between these
facets of anthropology which I hope will benefit NGOs and policy makers employing
anti-poverty strategies who would benefit from a mind-set that is more institutionally self-
aware. This implies placing ’poor’ people’s own efforts at the centre of the analysis, and
reflecting more self-critically on possible side-effects of the exercise of governmental
and agency power.

21. 17
Chapter 4
4.1 Infrastructure- The starting point in documenting the social reality of poverty- The
cyclical relationship between the material and social world
This section will illustrate that an anthropological approach to buildings and
infrastructure can unearth a variety of issues. These include how poor infrastructure is a
focus point of people’s cynicism about the government and facilitates inequality. This
section also highlights the challenges that are posed by globalisation and global
investment as well as material and architectural changes that are taking place. However
and perhaps most interestingly is that this section shows that ‘poverty’ isn’t just
reducible to a material lack (of infrastructure or resources) but also needs to be
understood in the context of local culture, socio-cultural change and the effects of
globalisation.
The first day I arrived in Jambiani I decided to venture beyond the gates that led out to
the local community and pristine beaches. It was instantly apparent that there was a
sharp contrast in wealth when you looked at local buildings such as schools and houses
in comparison to the grandiose hotels that stretched along the coast and even up high
into the coral rocks. These buildings were undeniably pieces of beautiful architecture
with a western feel that made the tourists feel more at home. I later learned that the
hotels were owned by a mixture of self-styled entrepreneurial wealthy white immigrants
from America, Europe as well as large international companies. The social inequality
that I was later to uncover on a more social level was thus clearly reflected between the
different class positions in Zanzibar in the form of property ownership.
The writings of Wintrop (1991) express the idea that the often overlooked material
factors in a society such as the immediate physical environment, technology and
economy all create a consistent hierarchy or wealth, power, prestige and most
importantly to our discussion, inequality. This concept of materialism places an
emphasis on infrastructure itself as the cause of poverty, rather than on non- material
factors such as belief or custom. To an extent this view has some weight as much of the
poverty that is present in Zanzibar can be attributed to poor infrastructure. The majority
of roads that I encountered were extremely treacherous (See figure 6 and 7) .These
were riddled with pot holes which burst the tires of our travelling mini-van on many
occasions. In addition there were sharp coral rocks that would either halt the journey to
a crawl for many miles or be inaccessible by car altogether. The unreliable access to
energy and under-developed telecommunications systems resulted in all the resorts and
village settlements in Jambiani village being plunged into darkness every few days.
These conditions are significant barriers to trade and discourage foreign investment.
This is essential if a nation like Zanzibar wishes to acquire capital to build competitive
industries and financial services which provide employment and help entrepreneurs
bring their ideas to fruition. These regular blackouts destroy many small businesses
dealing in food because hotels and resorts rely heavily on generators to keep their food

22. 18
frozen and their services operational. Local people cannot afford this luxury and are
essentially ousted from possibly the most profitable means of wealth acquisition in
Zanzibar. The frustration at the poor infrastructure was vented by many locals to me
during the world cup games which were played on a large screen on the beaches for
everyone to enjoy. For example, when on one of the occasions the lights went out I had
been talking to a local youth in the village and asked him what he thought about all the
power-cut shortages. Clearly frustrated ,he replied “Poverty trap my friend, that right
there is a big joke, we give all our money to the government, to the mainland, they do
not spend it on power for the people, they spend it to keep power for themselves”. This
episode revealed people’s cynicism about the government was at least in part due to
the failing infrastructural conditions that were inhibiting their opportunities to acquire
wealth.
Despite the lack of infrastructure in Zanzibar, the coastal area where I did my fieldwork
and the nation in general is entering a new age where radical transformation of the
islands infrastructure is occurring. This revealed larger international relationships and
their significance to the lives of the local people and reflected some of Zanzibars
underlying problems. I learned from Toni (African impact manager) and the MCECLE
website (1993) that the source of funding for these projects arose from the Chinese
government. On one of my cycling trips to a local forest I witnessed this first hand when
I saw Chinese construction managers directing the building of roads and cables around
the area. I stopped for a few minutes to talk to one of the managers who introduced
himself as Liu Chang. He revealed to me that China is undertaking infrastructure
development projects all over Africa, when I asked why he replied confidently “Well to
me it seems the Chinese government have tapped into a mutually beneficial relationship
with Africa, we build vital services that give countries like Zanzibar a strong chance for
foreign investment and they allow us to harvest resources that are essential for the
future of China”.
Liu Chang also revealed the problems that face construction. “The workers are not very
well trained, so the pace of work is frustrating and can be complicated to explain due to
language difficulties”. Liu himself speaks in English and knows a few phrases of Swahili.
"The Chinese work very hard, very quickly," he says. “But here we are training local
people to do the work, and if someone does not understand, he works slowly. You
have to watch." This episode revealed the language barrier that exists in Zanzibar is
becoming an increasing problem due to the fact that Zanzibar is evolving into a nation
that is becoming increasingly dependent on sources of employment which are owned or
operated by other nations in which English is the international language. This encounter
also highlighted the lack of skilled workers who had not been trained in modern
techniques of building was due to an abysmal education system that was not creating
any workers with specialist skills. It seemed that Globalisation in the form of
international investment primary problem was overcoming language barriers. This
arguably needs to be addressed by the Zanzibar education system if people are to fully
benefit from modern expertise in building techniques.

23. 19
The motivations for the recent wave of Chinese development and diplomatic efforts in
Zanzibar and Africa in general could be interpreted as a protracted effort to oust
western and African control over land and politics on the continent. Another narrative
one could take is that China is engaged in a self-interested shopping spree in a zero-
sum world of finite resources. As I pondered over my conversation with Liu Chang I
gathered a different narrative from what I encountered. I began to realise that the
relationship Africa in general and Zanzibar was forging with China was interconnected
to international foreign investment. With new roads beginning to take shape through
previously inaccessible regions of pristine natural beauty, foreign investors have spotted
a potential for the Zanzibar coastline to become a western tourist hotspot. This helped
explain the almost sudden aggressive development that was occurring throughout the
islands. A concentration of guesthouses and bungalows as well as cluster of private
guesthouses was also being established along a 12-kilometer stretch of beach, and
contrary to plans, tourist facilities were evolving within the village settlements, with ever
more investors applying for permission to develop the area.
The housing and infrastructural conditions in Jambiani village also revealed an
additional analysis in the context of local culture that challenges the simplistic view that
the material world and cultural world are separate. The construction styles of homes
were a material manifestation of a culture that prided itself on traditional building
techniques, passed down, generation to generation. A typical house in Jambiani village
is a modest square building with small windows on the outer walls, constructed of locally
available limestone and chalk mortar, with makuti (thatching made of coconut palm
fronds) roof. The chalk mortar, mined in small scales from the coral rag is pulverised
and diluted with water to form a brilliant whitewash with which all stone houses are
coated. All houses conforming to the traditional architecture consist of a single ground
floor, with the main entrance to an inner courtyard that doubles as cooking and storage
area. This building technique is laborious, extremely time consuming (can take up to ten
years to make a house in Zanzibar) and requires great skill. Similar to public acts of
religious worship or adhering to ancient social conventions the houses of the local
people are important markers of an individual possessing traditional values. By adopting
this building technique ‘locals’ are essentially conforming to the community by adopting
the standard building style of their neighbours and their ancestors.
It appeared to me contrary to the opinion of Wintrop (1991) who believed custom and
culture were separate from the creation of material structures, the creation of material
structures as well as infrastructure was largely influenced by non-material factors. In this
case, traditional customs were expressed in the local Zanzibar households which
served as a marker for expressing their social identity and place within society. For
example traditional cultural values were expressed through the wooden doors of
virtually every main entrance of any citizen’s house/business that had reasonable
financial resources (see figure 5). The famous “Zanzibar doors” consisted of elaborate
carvings representing Arabic values in the form of Koranic script on the lintel. When I
asked one of the local men why people went through such efforts to adorn the doors in
this fashion without a second of thought or hesitation he replied “They represent the

24. 20
meeting place of your family, it is the doorway to your family life and your soul, look
there, do you see the vines on that door? That means the owner deals in the spice
trade. That big door over there beside the jewellery shop has beads and carvings of
diamonds to represent the owner’s specialisation in precious stone. There are many
other symbols like waves climbing up the doorpost to represent the livelihood of the
fishermen”.
Figure 5-Door of Zanzibar adorned with decorations
4.2 Conclusion
It was undeniable Zanzibar was changing materially and economically. I felt that with so
many exciting developments underway in Zanzibar the cause of widespread poverty
that still prevailed in the region was not borne out of lack of resources. This was
because it was clear foreign investors were anticipating money would flow to the islands
even more now with infrastructural developments underway. By looking at buildings and
infrastructure though an anthropological lense I had unearthed a variety of issues. The
lack of roads were perceived by my informants as reflecting the poor organisation of the
state and its disregard for the’ poor’. This being said it is difficult to know conclusively
where the responsibility for the lack of roads lies as it will undoubtedly be tied to
economic factors such as lack of funds.
Beyond the nature of the relationship between the state and the people the buildings
reflected the cultural influence that was embedded in local Zanzibar architecture as well
as the building process which was now not viable in this new landscape that required
training and expertise in modern building techniques. Chinese development in Zanzibar
had revealed a poor education system that deprived people of specialist skills that is
needed in a modern society as well as a language barrier that would inevitably pose

25. 21
problems for locals seeking employment in the rapidly growing tourist industry. I was
curious how modernisation was affecting the local culture and conceptualisation of
poverty. With these issues in mind I wanted explore in more depth what these changes
meant for the local people of Zanzibar from a social/cultural level. I therefore decided
my next avenue of analysis was to move beyond the material realm of infrastructure to
investigate how locals conceptualised their identity and poverty in this changing
landscape through group formations, and interaction with tourists/volunteers.
Figure 6 (left) - One of the best functioning roads through Stone town, the result is
massive congestion due to lack of other routes available.
Figure 7(right) - Jambiani village road, due to lack of capital cars are a luxury for resorts
and extremely wealthy only, most routes are created for bikes- the far left road being a
key example.

26. 22
Chapter 5
5.1 Stereotypical perceptions of the poor-The pathway to social “distancing” and
discrimination
This chapter will investigate the consequences of negative stereotypical perceptions of
the poor, which are largely being introduced to Zanzibar by tourists. The chapter will
begin by showing how international discourse trickles down into localised contexts
which is influencing how the ‘poor‘ are perceived. We then unveil the psychological
processes behind the attitudes that are shaping the relationship the ‘poor’ share with the
western tourists and volunteers. The ethnographic examples aim to show that this
relationship is one that is creating new forms of marginalisation from resources and
furthering the gap of inequality. The second half of the chapter elaborates how the
social change that is occurring as a result of tourist activity on the islands is leading
local people to construct new identities to deal with their rapidly changing cultural world.
Finally, through the use of ethnographic examples we argue that traditional models of
social conformity are being replaced by mimicry of westerners which is affecting how
local people conceptualise their identity and place within society.
As an anthropology student and previous psychology student I was disappointed that
despite reading the writings of Collins (1988) which covers heuristics and negative
labels that are attributed to the ‘poor’ I felt unsafe to walk through the local village when
I first arrived. There was a significant number of buildings that were unfinished which led
the volunteers to mistakenly make the assumption that the buildings had been bombed.
Many buildings had roofs that often consisted of rusted metal and had an almost
menacing feel to them because they quite simply were the structural living conditions of
a poor African village. This moment of anxiety that stopped myself and the ten other
volunteers from venturing further into the village made me realise that negative
psychological sentiments, such as “The poor are violent, poor areas are unsafe, the
poor are not civilised like us”, illustrated that despite our lack of any first hand contact or
evidence of the character of the villagers, we already had a grounded perception of
what the ‘poor’ were like. This perception was one that had been crafted by our
exposure to the international discourse concerning poverty stricken areas which in the
media is portrayed as a highly unstable environment where violence is the rule of the
day. Albrekt Larsen and Dejaard (2013) found that this negative stereotyping of the poor
occurs across western societies when they conducted a comparative study of British,
Swedish and Danish media coverage of poverty.
Even in the foundational anthropological academic writings by Lewis (1959) and
subsequent writers, the culture of poverty is one that is portrayed as one that elicits
behaviours that deviate from the social norm. The stereotyping of the poor in this way
has profound implications for how they are treated and is resulting in new forms of
marginalisation. I noticed that almost all tourist centres in Jambiani are fenced off from
the rest of the village, either by a wall or by makuti (palm fronds) fencing. This has the
purpose of marking the limits of the hotel complex, but is especially constructed to

27. 23
create a barrier between the hotel and the village. One could argue this serves a
positive purpose because it limits the cultural friction that tourists spark when they
sunbathe but it is also leading tourists to increasingly “distance” themselves from the
poverty that surrounds them. I learned from one of the European kite instructors that
there were land disputes concerning areas of beach close to hotels. Hotels are
attempting to change the law to make the coastal beaches, land that can be owned so
they can prohibit locals from “bothering” the tourists. This attempt to prohibit local
people from “bothering” the tourists illustrates the point that the ‘local’ people are
arguably being labelled by hotel owners as inferior to tourists in the sense that they do
not belong in the same public spaces as their guests.
This was a real topic of contention among the locals who felt their lives were being
inhibited as a result of their perceived lower class. One of my students in the adult
English speaking class summarised what was happening well when he said “It is very
hard to change the situation in Zanzibar, the government don’t think what is best for us,
the hotels make chicken tourists scared to experience our culture, they do not see the
real heart of Zanzibar because that lies in the people, the hotels are trying to keep them
from. I hope volunteers like you can change that teacher, by going home and telling
everyone that in Zanzibar we have a clean heart”. This statement may be an overly
romanticised account of poverty but it touches on the social distancing that is
increasingly marginalising the poor.
It is my analysis that tourists, the government of Zanzibar, hotel-staff and volunteers
emotionally and physically distance themselves from the poor in various ways. The
attitudes of hotel owners who sought to exclude who they perceived to be ‘poor’
reflected what Lott (2002 pg.100-110) classifies as ‘cognitive distancing’. This is a form
of distancing whereby the upper classes hold onto negative, unjustified stereotypes
about poor people’s characteristics and behaviour. Another example of this is also the
first impression that the volunteers had about the people in Zanzibar, which made us
too scared to venture further into the village. The second from of distancing which Lott
(2002 pg.100-110) labels as ‘institutional distancing’ involves punishing members of
low-status groups by erecting barriers to full societal participation.
‘Institutional distancing ‘was exemplified in the schooling system of Zanzibar that is a
highly corrupt system that prevents the ‘poor’ from advancing in society or gaining any
semblance of power. From my experience as a teacher to the local community I noticed
that when you reach the age of 17 you must complete form 4 english exams . It is at this
stage that the vast majority of Zanzibaris stop advancing in the education system and
therefore do not acquire a degree (the demand for hospitality degrees are increasingly
being expected from hotels to acquire employment). This is because the exams are
outdated and very out of touch with the modern English language. For example on the
English section of the test there was a question asking to describe what a “cobbler”
was. Many of the European volunteers including myself were confused by these types
of questions that are incredibly difficult to understand. My informants in African impact
told me that the rich bypass the form 4 exams by being able to buy a pass and pay for

28. 24
the next level of education that is necessary to obtain a degree. For the vast majority of
the population this is not feasible and therefore higher education remains an extremely
unrealistic goal.
The third and final form of distancing is labelled by Lott (2002 pg.100-110) as
‘interpersonal distancing’, whereby middle or upper class individuals ignore lower-class
individuals or insult them. I witnessed the psychological process of ‘interpersonal
distancing’ many times during my frequent visits to other resorts in the area. Locals
would frequently peer their heads over the gate and call “Jambo, Jambo (hello)!” the
tourists and even many volunteers would often not utter a word of response. By not
even acknowledging the locals’ presence, to me this reflected the disparity that exists
between the wealthy and the poor. My ethnographic observations on this issue has thus
provided an ethnographic framework in which Lotts (2002) theory of ‘distancing’ fits
comfortably. It can likewise be applied to similar anthropological ethnographies such as
Caplan’s (1997) narrative about the social changes and their challenges to a Swahili
village.
Unveiling the psychological processes behind the attitudes that ultimately shape the
relationship the wealthy share with the poor, illustrates how international discourse
trickles down into localised contexts and influences how the poor are perceived. The
perception of the poor is creating social change on the islands and as Hacking (1999)
notes “Social change creates new categories of people, it creates new ways for people
to be”. With this in mind, I decided that to document the social reality of poverty in
Zanzibar to the fullest extent possible it would be necessary to further investigate the
social effect westerners were having on the islands. This would lead me to uncover how
locals conceptualised their own situation, their identity and how best to socially
negotiate their rapidly changing cultural world.
5.2 New categories of people and new strategies of social navigation the poor
embark on.
Islam has contributed hugely to the moral values of Zanzibar (Boswell 2006). The notion
of ‘heshima’ translates to ‘self-control’ and is derived from Islamic discourse. The term
has historically served as a social marker for displaying public modesty and respect.
This standard is defined by an Islamic education by learning the Quran and the
traditions of the prophet, which traditionally takes place in the mosque. According to
attendees I spoke to in a mosque, participating in religious learning represent important
characteristics for the youth to display ‘heshima’ and uphold their status as civilised
members of society. ‘Heshima’ is achieved by social conformity, which is largely upheld
by self-representation. Self-representation is established through clothing choices,
which make inferences about piety, nationality, status and wealth. Traditionally (up ten
years ago) Muslim men in Zanzibar were expected to wear a “Dishdasha” which is a
large gown that is loose and can consist of many colours (see figure 9). Women wore a
similar gown that is coloured and when they left their homes they had to wear a ‘Hijab’
(This is a face cover and veil).

29. 25
Social conformity was and still is an essential part of life in Zanzibar because it allows
people to be identifiable to a group. One of my students expressed this concept of
group identity well during a discussion I arranged about the varying social groups in
Zanzibar when he said “Teacher, we have an old Arabic saying, eat what you like and
wear what people like. Here we show our allegiance to what we believe by what we
wear and how we act”. This class room topic also revealed to me that local people are
expected to maintain self-control with their emotions so any substances that alters your
state of consciousness is socially off limits to those that abide by this traditional mode of
self-representation. I would argue that these traditional ways of being are rapidly
declining as a result from tourism practices on the island, which directly challenge the
traditional model of ‘heshima’.
The effect tourism is having on the islands is transforming the social fabric of society in
Zanzibar for a variety of reasons. Many men can no longer fulfil basic religious
obligations due to their dependence on long works working in informal tourist sectors
which include taking tourists to snorkelling and swimming spots, showing them around
the village and making transport and excursion arrangement, facilitating bicycle or
motorbike rental, etc. This interaction between tourists and locals has resulted in cultural
and personal exchange that is creating what Hacking (1999) labels ‘New groups of
people’. What is particularly significant about the emergence of ‘new groups of people’
in this case is that they is evidence that new boundaries of ‘heshima’ are being
reformulated as a response to the new social environment that Zanzibaris find
themselves in.
These ‘new groups of people’ that have emerged are known as ‘beach boys’ and
‘rastamen’. Members of these groups are perceived by many older Zanzibaris as having
abandoned the education that defines their identity as civilised and cultured members of
society. In reality although these people are seeking new routes and roots outside the
Islamic discourse the social reality of their situation is not as clear cut as older
Zanzibaris think. I did not meet a single ‘beach boy’ or ‘rastaman’ who had completely
rejected Islam; they had simply reformulated aspects of the concept of ‘heshima’
because it allowed for more interaction with tourists and thus financial opportunities. The
members of these new groups are walking on a social tightrope in the sense that they
are struggling to strike a balance between maintaining older relations and obligations
regarding dress and behaviour which are largely irreconcilable with newer opportunities.
The dramatic change in social environment is largely the product of the western attitude
to Zanzibar which from my experiences with other volunteers and tourists across many
hotels seem to have a shared perception that Zanzibar is a thriving spot for sun, fun and
sex. Tourists visiting Zanzibar walk around Stonetown and through villages in shorts,
tank-tops and swimsuits, often engaged in displays of public affection with their
partners, which locals categorise as highly inappropriate. However due to the cash
power they posses, which controls the economic lives and survival of Zanzibraris, such
forms of tourist behaviours are accommodated. Subjected by the power of Western
Tourists, locals have to reconcile their needs and desires which has resulted in many

30. 26
Zanzibaris socially mimicking what they perceive to be the western way to behave. This
mimicry was personified by the emergence of the ‘beach boys’ and ‘rastamen’ who
dress up in western clothes, consume alcohol and drugs and adopt western social
norms and values. I witnessed this first hand in many respects. The first was the
Kendya rocks party, the speakers blasted heavy pop music and after 11:30pm local
people were also allowed to join the party. The second the clock struck 11:30pm a flood
of local men rushed the party, almost outnumbering the tourists and engaged in the
drinking of alcohol that followed, each dressed in typical modern western clothing.
Besides the Kendya rocks party throughout my stay many locals frequented the many
beach bars that were emerging in Jambiani and at one music bar, locals would often
play guitar, sing and dance with the tourists. Outside of the bars and parties many
locals maintained this western identity by talking and acting like volunteers who I believe
acted as role models in terms of how to be ‘cool’. A good example of this can be found
in my adult English class. A large group of students who wore western clothes were sat
in different groups than the more traditionally dressed Muslim students and were
labelled as ‘wannabes’ or ‘western copy cats’ (see figure 8 for a photo that illustrates
this western style of dress students are adopting). What I found fascinating was that the
students who were more westernised, when given a speech test about their jobs were
all affiliated with the ‘informal tourism sector’. Even the girls in the class, who had a
limited scope for identity formation compared to males were making alot of effort to be
‘modern’ by considering the style of the dress, the material of the cloth and finding the
time to stitch ‘unique’ designs (see figure 10).
These examples illustrate that Jambiani village and Zanzibar in general is at crucial an
intersection in time in which changing norms coupled with a simultaneous religious
decline is largely the product of globalisation mainly in the form of interaction with
tourists. Mimicing western dress and behaviour is a new phenomenon to the islands
according to Toni, the community teaching project leader who remarked “It has been
incredible. 15 years ago the people were different, they are viewing themselves in a
fresh light now, they want more money, they see the power and status we have and
they want that, they want more English education to benefit from tourism, people from
all over Africa, not just Zanzibar are concentrating their efforts in finding employment
here, it is a really hazardous social landscape for the poor. They need to adapt to the
changing social environment or get left behind”.
My conversation with Toni was highly insightful on a number of levels. Although her
views on teaching English had a natural bias due to her affiliation with the African
Impact teaching programme her attitude highlights that many westerns who hold
positions of power are encouraging the social adaptation many Zanzibaris feel they
must make if they are to survive. This is precisely what Othman, a local security guard
at the local music bar has had to do. He asserted to me that employment in the tourism
sector is without ‘heshima’, since it requires Muslim workers to handle alcohol and
interact with strange women. Despite his antagonism to the influence of tourism,

31. 27
acquiring employment in the tourism sector has been the only way possible for him to
cope with the existing financial hardships and lack of other opportunities.
5.3 Conclusion
I felt that my findings in this section mirrored the writings of Kleine et al (1993) who
came to the conclusion that the spread of western culture creates new social dynamics
in a given society which subsequently introduces new models of identity. I believe that
my ethnographic examples concerning new group formations and the mimicking of
westerners documents the new identities people are undertaking as a means to gain
access to tourists who are the main source for financial opportunities. It is important not
to mistake the new identities undertaken by many Zanzibaris as a new form of
individualism. While it appeared to many westerners ,like Toni that a transformation of
the self had occurred, conforming to what Zanzibaris perceived to be western (i.e a
stereotype) is another form of groupism that does not necessarily break old models of
social conformity.
I also thought the emerging social groups that had their own cultural identity and norms
was an example that advocated Deveruexs (1977) cultural reductionism model which
essentially acknowledges the wider mainstream culture in a universalistic way but also
documents how cultures are always in the process of change which is reflected in
emerging groups that reflect the changing nature of society. These observations aside,
more research is undoubtedly needed to explore how women and men conceptualise
their identity in a society, where assimilation is at the core of its traditional cultural
values that are under threat from a new ideology which challenges and creates new
meaning systems of the self and their place in society.
Figure 8 (left) - Adult English class, notice the western attire of many of the students compared with
Figure 9 (right), the traditional mode of self-representation is quickly vanishing in Jambiani.

32. 28
Figure 10-Local women’s Hijaib designs are a way to express that they are ‘unique’ within the bounds of their
traditional culture of conformity.

33. 29
Chapter 6
6.1 Beneath the surface of peace- Unmasking discontentment and violence
This chapter begins by highlighting the increasing socio economic hardships that
Zanzibaris are facing. This has created new models of estrangement and growing
inequality which has subsequently led to a rejuventation of Islam in public and private
life. The historical chapter of the dissertation has shown that Islam has always been a
marker for identity in times of uncertainty in Zanzibar and now in the post-socialist era,
is serving as a common ground in which Zanzibaris can dissipate their differences. I will
then analyse how rising poverty coupled with the mass immigration from mainlanders
has fuelled old ethnic/religious antagonisms and given them a new context. These
ethnic/religious tensions have largely remained hidden under the surface of peace but
this section of my ethnography reveals increasing scarcity of resources has resulted in
acts of violence. This is of profound significance as it highlights that the poverty in
Zanzibar cannot be studied in isolation because it is closely linked to these issues of
ethnic/religious conflict as well as issues of identity and group formation which was
covered in the previous chapter. The chapter closes with a brief analysis of why the
isolated attacks or even any sign of organised protest have not been directed at the
state due to the power it wields over the ‘poor’.
This rapidly changing cultural environment Zanzibar finds itself in, is not only comprising
traditional values it is also not (contrary to popular belief) creating an abundance of
wealth for the local people. I surprisingly found that it was increasing their hardship
daily. This was due to many factors, the first being that the cost of basic commodities
has increased significantly over the past ten years due to the influx of tourists. Shop
owners know are willing to pay a lot more for basic products. An example of this that
was highlighted to me in a local home in which the young woman prided herself in
possessing cooking oil, this was considered a luxury product due to the 400% increase
from 800 Tanzanian shillings in (TZS) a liter in 2002 to over 2400 TZS by 2012.
The rising number of tourists has also subsequently led to mass migration from the
neighbouring Tanzanian mainland. This increase in population has produced a lack of
physical space which is transforming many neighbourhoods within Stonetown and
outside the cities borders into slums (see figure 12). After the frantic activity of the daily
night market where locals try desperately to sell their left over fish, garbage is left
everywhere and raw sewage litters the streets (see figure 11). The rising rents in
Stonetown and increasingly despondent living conditions are dislocating poor
Zanzibaris, forcing many to move away from the centre of Stonetown .However with
much of the work situated in town, they face new challenges to commute to and from
town for work. Such difficulties and lack of access to urban spaces have had detrimental
impact on the quality of life for many families.
In light of these prevailing economic hardships and emerging challenges of
globalisation, many Zanzibaris provide shelter to members of their extended families in

34. 30
their homes. I encountered an example of this when I went to visit The Juma household
for an evening meal. This family household sheltered 6 members who ranged from
infancy to old age. The relatives of the husband, Faraq Juma were unable to cope with
their own financial living conditions and thus sent their children to live with Faraq and his
family since they have (relatively) better incomes to ease their own hardships. This
example illustrates the point that family network is an essential part of how Zanzibar
society holds itself together especially since urbanisation is creating a scarcity of
resources and a social landscape that is becoming more transitional and impersonal.
The sense of belonging that does remain in the city and coastal communities is one that
mainlanders from Tanzania are socially margainisled from. The overt hatred for the
mainlanders is propagated by the prevailing political rhetoric in Zanzibar society. The
memories of the revolution and the loss of Zanzibar’s autonomy within the framework of
the union contribute to the antagonism that Zanzibars display toward people from the
mainland. By maintaining social and physical strangeness, Zanzibaris want to assert
that mainlanders are not a part of the islands memory, past present or future. This is
because historically there has always been an ethnic distinction between ‘mainlanders’
and ‘locals’ from Zanzibar. The mass immigration of mainlanders threatens the
cherished concept of ‘local’ that Zanzibaris adhere too. When I asked members of my
classes where they were from, they would always say, I am a ‘local’ from Zanzibar. The
attempt to block mainlanders becoming integrated into Zanzibar society is largely
because they are perceived as the main contributors to the emerging problems of
crime, prostitution, access to local resources, such as water and spread of diseases
resulting from over population.
Beyond mainlanders posing a threat to the ‘local’ concept of identity they are also
perceived as a threat to the limited employment opportunities that are available in
Zanzibar. Many members of hotel staff that I encountered were from the mainland
because they possess the qualifications necessary to work in hotels while the vast
majority of ‘local’ Zanzibaris cannot afford to partake in higher education and are thus
subjected to working in informal areas of tourism. On top of all of this the responsibility
of the failing electrical infrastructure throughout Zanzibar is also blamed on the mainland
Tanzanian government which many ‘local’ people want to break away from entirely and
express this clearly in their treatment towards ‘mainlanders’.
On one my long cycles to Jozani forest I met a man called Samuel, who claimed to be
from the mainland. Samuel indicated that it is preferable to live in the outskirts near the
airport area since living near Stonetown would almost be impossible, as people there
despise mainlanders. By living around other mainland Christians, this ensures he and
his family will not experience the problems of being ‘outsiders’. This racial and religious
antagonism fits well into the writings of Hacking (2005). In Zanzibar the instincts to
classify people has allowed the impoverished people an outlet for a source of their
discontentment. A lot of the local people who I encountered during my fieldwork had a
good command of English and told me that the reason for their unemployment was at
least partly due to race. They claimed that other areas of Africa are perceived as ‘softer

35. 31
spoken’ and thus better suited to dealing with tourists. Whether or not this is true is of no
consequence because if people “perceive” racial discrimination they will feel exploited,
dominated and enslaved, just as Hacking (2005) predicted. The feelings of exploitation
and domination are ones that Zanzibaris have adopted based on their perceived
inferiority to ‘mainlanders’ who acquire the most sought after jobs. We can infer
therefore that similar to Hackings (reference) concept of ‘moving targets’ the behaviour
illicted towards the mainlanders by Zanzibaris is their reaction to perceived
discrimination and are thus responding in kind.
While these models of strangeness emerging from the rise in commodity consumption
and growing urbanisation threaten to tear the social fabric of society, rejuvenation of
Islam in the public and private lives of Zanzibaris offers a common ground for Zanzibaris
to dissipate their differences. With tourism introducing displays of drunken antics from
the tourists and locals alike, Zanzibaris lament about the decline of ‘heshima’ in their
society. For those who are jobless and suffering great economic hardships, the appeal
to absolute principles of revivalist Islam provides a mechanism to retain their heshima to
conceal their existing hardships and indignity. The significance of Islam in shaping the
national identity of Zanzibar and serving as a force that binds the society together has
also emphasised in the work of Marsden, M (2013).
Although worshippers at the local mosques informed me that there were different
sectarian traditions within Islam, they felt united “under the banner of Islam” which
provided them with a unifying force for conceptualising Muslim identity. Although new
social groups are emerging to challenge the traditional normative or customary Islamic
values, Islam itself provided a critique to the perceived moral decay of Zanzibar society,
epitomised by the threat of tourism to traditional values. It is clear that Islam acts as the
social glue that is holding society together in many respects. It acts as an outlet in which
many Zanzibaris can converge and openly discuss their grievances about the negative
aspects of tourism. It is also providing many people with a form of identity and moral
framework in which to evaluate the rapidly cultural environment. The western emphasis
on materialism according to Moreira (2003) has created low self-esteem and creating
discontent, Islam serves as a social tool to deal with these issues. Islam is at the center
of Zanzibar culture which is a culture where old and new values meet and new identities
are being contested between religious tradition and modernisation.

36. 32
Figure 11- Rubbish is piling high as a result of overcrowding
Figure 12- Clustered living conditions in Stone Town
6.2 Poverty, inequality and cultural change- The links to new forms of ethnic/religious
divisions and acts of violence
The perceived erosion of traditional values in Zanzibar society is largely tolerated by the
majority of Zanzibaris because of the islands dependence on tourists. Occasionally
however, the underlying cultural friction caused by the widespread implementation of
western ideas to a traditional society manifests itself through violence. As I was strolling
through the narrow streets of Stonetown with the female volunteers one of them
nervously said “I feel very uncomfortable here dressed like this”. She was wearing
trousers and a t shirt and considering the soaring African heat and the way some of the
other tourists were dressed I thought no real line was crossed. This was because I had
come to learn at this point that mzungu’s (white tourists) were given moral leeway with
regards to many local practices which I naturally assumed also encompassed moral
dress codes. She was also a new volunteer so I originally put down her misgivings to
the culture shock I first felt on the island. She informed me her misgivings came from a
widely covered news story that only happened one year ago. Essentially, suspected
Islamist attackers hurled acid into the faces of two British teenage girls as they strolled
through, Stonetown as Zanzibar's Muslim majority were preparing to celebrate the end
of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. It seems that increasing incidents like this is
perhaps the only way the disaffected can vent their anger at what they perceive to be
the source of many of their societies growing problems.
I enquired with our local city tour guide about this story and he said that there had been
a rise of extremist groups on the islands. One in particular called “The Awakening” a
minority group, but believed to be growing in influence, especially among disaffected
and jobless youth. To me it appeared that the growing westernisation of Zanzibar and

37. 33
developing countries like it creates cultural friction that does not always yield a social
benefit for the local people. For the minority who are directly employed in the tourism
sector they spend a large portion of their time serving tourists with a sense of inferiority.
Many local shop owners and tour guides daily life heavily revolves around pleasing
foreigners as much as possible to acquire enough money to feed their families while
others openly beg or attempt acts of kindness in the hope for a small return for their
endeavour. The tourists’ public displays of any affection (holding hands, small kiss) is
viewed as intercourse and their dismissal of sacredly held Islamic values and perceived
importation of the vices of sin such as prostitution, drugs, and consumerism was noted
to me on more than one occasion
My experience with violence was not limited to these two conversations however.
During my stay in Zanzibar on the 14th June just a few days after I had visited
Stonetown, a large explosion took place near a mosque at a time when worshippers
emerged after evening prayer. This explosion caused one fatality and severely wounded
several others. On the surface it appeared to be a sectarian motivated retaliation attack.
Our vital link to Jambiani village and local community project leader Dulla explained that
earlier this year, two Improvised explosive devices were triggered near a Catholic
church and there has been periodic trouble on the island due to radicals attempting to
incite Muslims and Christians into conflict. Dulla defiantly defended his people when he
passionately stated “This strategy largely fails because vast majority of Zanzibaris are a
peace loving and tolerant people”. The attack is of significance because acts of
structural violence aimed at an institution (particularly a sacred one) are incredibly rare
in Zanzibar but have been growing in number in recent years as political/religious
tensions are rising due to rapidly declining economic prosperity for the local people.
Kloos and Silva (1995) write that structural violence, especially in developing countries,
is often the product of the underlying impact of poverty which in times of rapid growth
rates and structural changes to the economy accelerate and intensify group competition
for scarce resources, particularly in countries where professional specialisation and
ethnic cleavages overlap. I think this is a very well-articulated insight to why this act of
violence occurred. I wanted to probe this issue deeper because I felt this incident of
structural violence is replicated across many cultures on larger scales. A prime example
being the mixture of tribal/ religious conflicts in Kenya coupled with the 2014 attacks on
many tourists that subsequently led to Britain putting into place an antitravel advisory
which caused an immediate evacuation of British holiday makers from Kenya’s
beaches.
When I revisited Stonetown and visited the blast site, the local’s curiosity and desire to
interact with westerners proved to be advantageous. As I attempted to approach people
in the area I realised I was interacting with the people who were the most affected by
the underlying religious tensions that lurked under the surface of a peaceful society. The
older generation I talked to were averse to religious hatred and violence as a means of
achieving a “voice”. The events from the socialist revolution were still fresh in their
minds and seemed to be a large influence on their disdain. Ali and Ahmed were owners